Combining Antiquity Customs (Surf and Texas) into HB

[batcountry]

Hi,
Long time lurker, first time poster. I have both the antiquity custom surf and custom Texas hot bridge pickups, not currently in use. I also have a Yamaha Pacifica 604w, that has an unusual dual single coil bridge setup.

Knowing the Texas and surf are reverse polarity relative to each other, I figured I might combine them into an rp/rw humbucker that splits, just like the stock Yamaha dual single coils do.

Would that work as I am expecting? Will it sound like a very hot humbucker with the treble rolled off?

I am probably going to try it but I thought I’d field the idea to the hivemind before breaking out the soldering iron.

Thanks!

 

[jeremy]

Re: Combining Antiquity Customs (Surf and Texas) into HB

welcome to the forum!

you can try it and it will "work" no idea how it will sound

 

[Mincer]

Re: Combining Antiquity Customs (Surf and Texas) into HB

Combining singles into humbuckers is a hit and miss thing. You might get lucky and get something unique, but most of the time it doesn't sound like you'd expect. It certainly isn't any better than a traditional humbucker.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Combining Antiquity Customs (Surf and Texas) into HB

no, it wont sound like a traditional humbucker but you will have two cool single coil sounds! the bucker in the bridge might be cool? hard to say until you try it and let us know how it came out

 

[Clint 55]

Re: Combining Antiquity Customs (Surf and Texas) into HB

There's less benefit to doing it in the bridge position as it still sounds like a bridge humbucker. It's still unique though, some of the single coil characteristics shine through. It actually sounds great in neck position, it sounds like a nice hot single coil.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Combining Antiquity Customs (Surf and Texas) into HB

ive noticed you and i hear things quite differently clint

 

[Clint 55]

Re: Combining Antiquity Customs (Surf and Texas) into HB

I thought you hadn't tried it?! Lol. I think our tastes are different. I like excess while you like moderation. The one guitar I have humbuckers made out of single coils is a Mustang where I was purposely going for a hot, "skanky", "pawn shop" sound and they sound great for that. But I think there is some benefit to using 2 single coils in the bridge although it does mostly sound like a bridge humbucker. Tons of output with the inherent voice of the single coils showing through series mode.

 

[gregory]

Re: Combining Antiquity Customs (Surf and Texas) into HB

Tone is indeed subjective.

For example, I have yet to hear any A4 magnet swap that I thought was anything short of dreadful. This recent example of a parallel axis was no exception. What a great way to ruin an otherwise perfectly wonderful pickup. I should create a thread requesting samples of what people think is great tone with an A4-loaded 59N. I imagine I'm not the only one in the world who's less inclined to agree.

This is not to say I have any interest in crapping on posts demonstrating tweaks that have been made by authors who believe their tweaks are successful or otherwise. I believe in a community that encourages and I am genuinely happy for people who find success in their endeavors, regardless of whatever is my personal opinion. I do feel that occasional constructive honesty is necessary sometimes, however. Examples of this include recommendations to get a Jazz neck pickup because it sounds just like a Strat when split and 100 different switching configurations on one guitar claiming to cop the tone of 100 different guitars, or a P-Rails split to a rail sounds like a traditional single coil and in series sounds like a traditional humbucker.

I do like the sound of an SH-3 in the neck in series, however, and I have heard plenty of examples of asymmetrical coils being paired together that I like, so I don't see why combining an Ant Surf and an Ant Texas in series can't sound brilliant, at least to someone.

 

[AlexR]

Re: Combining Antiquity Customs (Surf and Texas) into HB

^ On the a4 thing (now we're going down the sidetrack road) its a magnet that allows the wind to shine through much more. I'd imagine that a lot of the more modern pickups do rely on certain bumps in eq from wire or magnet.
Plus magnets are not uniform - there are a few tests about where magnets from certain sources were consistently nastier or worked much more poorly as swaps.

 

[gregory]

Re: Combining Antiquity Customs (Surf and Texas) into HB

I don't buy the business about A4 giving a flat response, and until we are presented an objective method to determine a magnet's response, short of how it shifts a pickup's resonant peak, it smells more of religious doctrine.

What is the sound of a coil without a magnet? The same as the sound of one hand clapping.

 

[BlueSkiesAndPaign]

Re: Combining Antiquity Customs (Surf and Texas) into HB

Check out the Lace Emerald/Purple or Blue/Gold dually.

 

[gregory]

Re: Combining Antiquity Customs (Surf and Texas) into HB

Check out the Lace Emerald/Purple or Blue/Gold dually.

...in the neck but just one coil or the other, not both in series.

Gold/Gold if you want to run them in series, but there's something off about that tone which I don't hear with the SH-3 in series. Again, this is in the neck spot. For me there is no substitute for a true full-sized humbucker in the bridge.

YMMV!

 

[BlueSkiesAndPaign]

Re: Combining Antiquity Customs (Surf and Texas) into HB

...in the neck but just one coil or the other, not both in series.

Gold/Gold if you want to run them in series, but there's something off about that tone which I don't hear with the SH-3 in series. Again, this is in the neck spot. For me there is no substitute for a true full-sized humbucker in the bridge.

YMMV!

In the bridge, the lower output duallys in series sound a bit like there's an added middle humbucker. The Lace Sensor Silver single does come in rw/rp, so gluing two lace sensors, one of which is rw/rp may make sense, in the way a regular dually doesnt.

Also, we probably need to find out what sort of music the OP plays on that guitar.

OP, if you're going ahead with Texas+Surf, do let us know how it sounds!

 

[gregory]

Re: Combining Antiquity Customs (Surf and Texas) into HB

RWRP means extremely little when it comes to a Lace Sensor. You just get a reduction in hum which is already practically non-existent. As for the (seemingly always unsupported) fear of magnetic interaction, the magnetic field from a Lace Sensor is extremely weak outside the confines of the pickup and what is immediately above it.

So, no, involving an RWRP is not going to change the way a dual pair of Lace Sensors sounds.

 

[gregory]

Re: Combining Antiquity Customs (Surf and Texas) into HB

I am probably going to try it but I thought I’d field the idea to the hivemind before breaking out the soldering iron.

I'd say go for it, but first...

I also have a Yamaha Pacifica 604w, that has an unusual dual single coil bridge setup.

What do you think of the way the stock dual-single coil setup in the bridge sounds? If you don't like it, how do you hope it will change using the proposed pair of Antiquities?